This 560HP Caprice Brougham Is The Ultimate Sleeper

"DailyTurismo" (thedailyturismo)
04/30/2014 at 18:18 • Filed to: Daily Turismo

Forget everything you know about turbocharged Civic hatchbacks being sleepers, because this 12 second Caprice Brougham will blow your socks off and then buy you a steak dinner.

From the seller: "IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE MORE FUN THAN HAVING YOUR FRIENDS IN THE CAR WITH YOU AND SEEING THE FACE OF THE GUY IN THE CORVETTE, CAMARO, & MUSTANG DRIVERS (sic) YOU PASS BY ??" No, I'm pretty sure a 560-horsepower Grandpa mobile is the peak of fun no matter who you are. Find all-motor enjoyment in this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! sleeper for $9,989 in Madison, WI.

For when you really need to get to bingo, this is your whip. A 383 stroker based on an SBC 350 replaces the 140-horsepower 4.3-liter V-6 or the 165-horsepower 5.0-liter V8. The build looks fantastically clean and includes a high-performance radiator, even though the 383 isn't known to overheat like some 400s are. It even has a column-shifted automatic so you can fumble with your post-cataract surgery sunglasses without being interrupted by a pesky redline.

The Brougham package includes illuminated door sills, a vinyl roof, and other touches within the blue cloth interior. There's just the right amount of chrome. Really, everything works together to absolutely nail the Driving Miss Daisy look, right down to the wire wheels and tires that look better suited for wintering in Naples than trapping 114 in the quarter mile.

We're not sure what dealer would pick up something like this, or what precedent they would use for pricing it. Where's the 12-second Caprice category in NADA? $10,000 seems fair for an unnecessary amount of power in a spotless, AARP-approved package. Whoever buys this better keep the stock charade going, although they're forgiven if they slap on a Reagan-Bush '84 sticker.

See a faster car with wood veneer on the dash? Email us at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Words by DT contributor slowcarSLOW-MPGlol. posted as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Photo credits, craigslist.

DISCUSSION (18)

For Sweden > DailyTurismo
04/30/2014 at 18:19

Huge NP. That's one Bad B

jkm7680 > DailyTurismo
04/30/2014 at 18:22

One of the biggest NPs I've ever seen.

Granny just got some serious power. Seriously though, you could blow everybody away with that thing.

PS9 > DailyTurismo
04/30/2014 at 18:23

That's so not fair. Ricer kiddies would be gobbled up like skittles before the might of this thing.

lone_liberal > DailyTurismo
04/30/2014 at 18:23

How do you get all of the torque from a 383 to hook up with those tires?

PS9 > For Sweden
04/30/2014 at 18:23

Only a brown manual duramax B body wagon has more jalop cred than this car.

meatatarian > DailyTurismo
04/30/2014 at 18:26

Spectacular. NP as fuck.

Kinja'd!!!

BondoSpecial > DailyTurismo
04/30/2014 at 18:27

Cool, but wait till you need to go around a corner, especially w/ those size wheels and tires still on that ark...

offroadkarter > lone_liberal
04/30/2014 at 18:27

you don't....... you just, don't.....

DailyTurismo > lone_liberal
04/30/2014 at 18:29

I'd say the 560 hp is a gross over estimate...but if it is making anything over 350hp, it'd be a blast.

DailyTurismo > PS9
04/30/2014 at 18:30

Got a welder?

DailyTurismo > BondoSpecial
04/30/2014 at 18:33

Cornering in this car brings new meaning to the term capricious body roll .

lone_liberal > DailyTurismo
04/30/2014 at 18:34

I was giving them the benefit of the doubt. Most crate 383s are in the 400-450hp range at the flywheel so I'd be interested in what makes this one so much stronger.

crowmolly > offroadkarter
04/30/2014 at 18:38

You don't. You swap on real tires at the track.

12's with 560 hp and a 3.73 rear? Huh?

offroadkarter > crowmolly
04/30/2014 at 18:58

1 thats probably BHP not RWHP. factor in driveline loss and I bet its just above 500rwhp

2 its very possible that run was on street tires. a 114 trap I imagine would be enough to maybe eek out a high 11. I ran a 12.1 @ 112 last fall.

crowmolly > offroadkarter
04/30/2014 at 19:11

Of course that's flywheel HP, and you'd have to know the prep. I am just saying that if it's a 700R4/4L60 car with a 3.73 rear with 560 at the fly a 12.1 seems just a little light. I guess it depends on the trans and converter.

offroadkarter > crowmolly
04/30/2014 at 19:13

If this car had a 4L60 that'd explain everything. The trans probably gave out at the 1000' mark.

but the 4L60 is way to new for this era B body

crowmolly > offroadkarter
04/30/2014 at 19:14

4L60 is the same trans as the 700R4. They just changed the designation. Much like how a TH400 is referred to (sometimes but not often) as a 3L80.

fink stinger > DailyTurismo
04/30/2014 at 20:04

The trap speed never lies. Pretty much all of the speed-hp calculators put him off by ~100 hp, which is reasonable for a streetable 383. A carbureted 383 making an honest 560 hp? Not so streetable unless it has an appetite for nitrous.

At any rate, this car is a fantastic build and will surely spin common street tires pretty readily at surface street speeds.

Semi-related story: back in the late 80's, I raced with a guy that had a medium brown two-door Olds 88 that he drove to the track with his wife and two small kids. Very stock looking on the outside with the exception of matching color steel wheels that had small hubcaps and beauty rings. Through the mufflers on pump gas, that 496" Olds ran 11.20-11.40 depending on the weather. Once the rollbar became mandatory at 11.99, I didn't see him much.